Monday, August 16, 2010

California Ephemera Project

Though still a work in progress, the project should be completed by the end of 2010. The California Ephemera Project (CEP) provides access to the finding aids of ephemera collections at California institutions. The ephemera collections span from 1850 to the present, and contain advertisements, announcements, brochures, catalogs, menus, pamphlets, billheads, theater programs, clippings, bylaws, flyers, tickets, travel guides, and more.

Collections represent California businesses, associations, schools, institutions, and clubs; events ranging from world's fairs and earthquakes to parades and protests; buildings and structures, including the construction of Bay Area bridges; and extensive biographical files on both well-known and little-known Californians.

Funded by a Cataloging Hidden Special Collections and Archives grant awarded by the Council on Library and Information Resources (CLIR) to process and describe their ephemera in 2009-2010, the initial partners on the California Ephemera Project include the California Historical Society; the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender Historical Society; the San Francisco Public Library; and the Society of California Pioneers, all located in San Francisco.

About Us

The California Historical Society, founded in 1871, is a nonprofit organization with a mission to inspire and empower people to make California's richly diverse past a meaningful part of their contemporary lives.